Torrance Officer Still Must Pay Damages

A federal judge has concluded that a Torrance police officer’s bankruptcy does not free him from paying damages awarded by a jury for the 1984 death of a 19-year-old motorcyclist.

The order from U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Calvin K. Ashland is the latest step in the long-running legal battle stemming from an Aug. 30, 1984, traffic collision on Rolling Hills Road between off-duty police Sgt. Rollo Green and motorcyclist Kelly Rastello of San Pedro.

Attorneys for Rastello’s family had sought the order from Ashland.

Brian Panish, who represented the Rastello family, said he was pleased with the June 22 order. “It establishes that bankruptcy courts will strictly enforce the law,” he said Friday.

Don Teague, an attorney for Green, said he does not expect to appeal Ashland’s decision.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury last fall found that the Torrance Police Department covered up for Green, who had been drinking before the accident, by failing to measure Green’s blood-alcohol level and by delaying a field sobriety test.

The jury awarded a $5.5-million civil judgment against the Police Department and six of its officers and added $2.1 million in attorney fees and trial expenses.

Green filed the bankruptcy petition last September, soon after the jury awarded $375,000 in compensatory damages against him. The jury also ordered Green to pay $5,000 in punitive damages.

Panish, the Rastellos’ attorney, argued that the bankruptcy petition did not release Green from paying the damages. He cited a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that compensatory and punitive damages cannot be discharged when they result from voluntary acts of drinking and driving.

Teague, who represents Green in the bankruptcy, said he believes the trial never proved Green was drunk. “Rollo just wants this emotional and financial matter to be over with,” Teague added.

Green’s house was sold for $685,000 this spring, according to the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, Steven E. Smith. A total of $301,125.58 remained after mortgages and fees, said Smith, who oversees the funds.

The bankruptcy case may not be settled for several years, Teague said.

“It’s going to be a while before anybody gets any money, I’m sorry to say,” Smith said.